


Do not stand over my grave and weep

by Talitha_Koum



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Under the Red Hood
Genre: Angst, Bruce Wayne is Batman, But also, Canon-Typical Violence, Cemetery, Evil Magician - Freeform, Fluff, Gen, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Jason Todd is Red Hood, Jason Todd is Robin, Magic, No editing we die like mne, Reconciliation, Tim Drake is Red Robin, but hopefully it doesnt hurt as bad by the end, but it shouldn't be confusing, it'll all make sense, its finals week, maybe? i dont know if it counts as fluff, or like tired college students, or studying, tense shifts around a little bit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-08
Updated: 2019-12-09
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:27:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21712966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Talitha_Koum/pseuds/Talitha_Koum
Summary: Cold.That’s the first thing Jason notices when he woke up. He’s cold, and wet. Why is he wet?He opens his eyes slowly, looking around, and realizes he’s lying on the ground. He sits up, peering through the mist, and shoots to his feet when he recognizes where he is.A graveyard.His graveyard, with his grave.
Relationships: Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake & Jason Todd
Comments: 13
Kudos: 178





	1. Chapter 1

“Red Robin to Red Hood, Red Robin to Red Hood. Hood, you on?”

Jason grunted, shooting a would-be mugger in the knee before he responded, “I’m here, Red. Whatcha need?”

“I’ve got some wanna-be magician heading towards Crime Alley. I’m going to continue my pursuit, but I’m gonna need back-up to take this guy down.”

“Send me your coordinates. I’m on the way.”

-

“You know, you could have mentioned the crazy magic staff, Replacement. That would have been nice to know about!” Jason yelled as he ducked behind a chimney to avoid getting blasted by magic from said staff.

“Yeah, that was my bad.” Tim replied, breathing hard. “I’d just fallen into a dumpster trying to dodge whatever it is he’s shooting at us.”

Jason snorted. “Oh, so that’s what that smell is.”

“Shut up, Hood. Focus on the wizard.”

Jason grinned, and started shooting again. He fired off a couple shots before falling back against the chimney and calling out “This isn’t working. I’m gonna distract him, draw his fire, and you take him down.”

“Bad idea, you could get hit.”

“Then you better move fast.” Jason braced himself and counted down. “3-2-1, now!”

He spun out from behind the chimney, rapid firing at the magician. The man spun around to face him, and before Jason even realized what happened, he felt a blast hit him in the chest, knocking him backwards.

He heard Tim scream “Hood!” and then everything went black.

-

Cold.

That’s the first thing Jason notices when he woke up. He’s cold, and wet. Why is he wet?

He opens his eyes slowly, looking around, and realizes he’s lying on the ground. The grass is covered in dew, and the air is thick with a heavy mist. He sits up, peering through the mist, and shoots to his feet when he recognizes where he is.

A graveyard.

_His_ graveyard, with his grave.

Every instinct is screaming at him to flee, to get away, but before he can take a step, he hears a sound behind him.

He slowly turns, and his gaze falls upon a very familiar grave stone.

**JASON TODD**

As he stares, the ground in front of the stone cracks open, and a hand reaches out.

He tries to go, to help, but finds himself frozen in place. He stares, eyes wide, as a younger Jason in a torn and tattered Robin uniform begins to climb out.

A small part of Jason’s mind says ‘That’s not right. It was a normal suit. I had to use the belt buckle.’ That part falls silent as the boy, the Robin, finally emerges from the hole and stands to his feet, meeting Jason’s gaze through a domino mask.

Jason breaks eye contact to look down into the still-open grave, and he sees the casket, open instead of broken, lying empty and unmarked.

He cranes his neck to the side and once again hears that small voice ‘No. I practically destroyed the lid. This is wrong. This is-”

He jerks his head back up, realizing that they’re no longer alone. He and Robin stood facing each other on opposite sides of the empty grave, and now Batman stood silently at the foot, opposite the gravestone. His gaze was slowly shifting between the two boys, who both stared back at him.

Finally, Jason broke the silence. “B, what’s going on? Tim called me about the magician, and next thing I know I ended up here.”

Batman turned to look at him, still not speaking, and Jason furrowed his brow, confusion and – was that fear? – building up inside of him. “B?”

“He has to make a choice.” Robin spoke up, saying his first words since crawling out of his own grave.

“What?”

“He has to choose.” Robin repeated. Batman still had not spoken a single word, not even a grunt. “Someone has to be in the grave.”

Jason drops his gaze slowly from the younger boy back to the open grave and casket, the words not registering in his brain.

When they finally sink in, he feels his breath leave him, and his head swivels back up to stare at Robin, who had turned to face Batman. “Don’t make me go back.” The boy quietly pleaded. “Let me stay, Dad.”

Bruce visibly flinched at the word ‘Dad’ and Jason felt himself begin to panic.

“B, he’s not real. It doesn’t matter if he goes back, he’s not real. I am. I’m real, and I’m right here.”

Robin reaches out and gently took hold of Bruce’s hand. “I’m real, too. I can come home if you make him go. Dad, please. I want to come home. Please.”

His voice is soft, pleading, and Jason sees him make his decision. He squeezes Robin’s hand, then turns to Jason, who slowly begins to step back.

“B, listen to me. I don’t know what’s happening, but you gotta trust me.” Now he’s the one pleading, imploring as he feels the panic begin to overtake him. “Don’t do this. B, please.”

Batman takes another slow step towards him, and Jason turns to run. Before he can, he feels a gauntleted hand grab him by the shoulder. Instinctively, he begins to fight, all the while trying to run, to escape from the gaping hole and the now silent Robin.

Slowly, he gets dragged back to the open grave. He tries to keep fighting, but his limbs won’t obey, and now he’s panicking.

He looks over his shoulder, and finds himself staring at the empty casket, open and waiting. Terror overtakes him, and he begins to beg.

“B, please listen to me. Don’t do this. _Dad, please._ Don’t.”

Batman only grunts before lifting him fully off the ground, and then dumps him into the hole.

As he’s falling, and everything starts to go black, Jason can only scream,

“NO!”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “NO!” Jason’s scream ripped through the silence, startling Bruce with its suddenness, even though he had been watching intently for any sign of his son waking up.
> 
> The boy vaulted off the bed and was sprinting out of the med bay and across the cave before Bruce could even get to his feet.
> 
> “Jason!” Bruce cried out, racing after his son. He pulls up to a stop when he sees Jason standing frozen in front of the memorial case containing his Robin uniform. He stood there ashen, staring at the domino mask he had once worn.

“3-2-1, now!” Tim heard Jason count down, then begin shooting at the magician. He waited two seconds to allow the man's focus to be completely on Jason and jumped up to begin his own attack.

As he left his cover, he saw the magician hit Jason with a blast from his staff and he heard Jason scream before collapsing in a heap on the ground. Tim flew into action, attacking the magician in a flurry of movement that had him quickly overwhelmed. One final swing of his bo staff left the man unarmed, and a quick nerve strike left him lying unconscious next to Jason. Tim restrained him and turned to check on his brother.

“Hood, you with me?” Tim reached down to check for a pulse, breathing a sigh of relief when he found one. It was low, but not so low that it was alarming, just showing that he was heavily sedated. Tim did a quick assessment, and then placed a call to Batman.

“B, Hood’s down. He got hit with a magic blast and is currently unconscious. I see no other injuries, and he’s not displaying any signs of distress.”

“What’s your location? I’ll pick you up in the Batmobile and go to the Cave.

Tim reeled off their coordinates, and began the arduous task of getting Jason, the magician, and the magic staff down to street level. The Batmobile pulls up to the building just as he finally reaches the ground, and Bruce helps him load them all in.

As they take off towards the Cave, Bruce glances at Tim and asks, “Are you okay? You didn’t get hit with anything?”

Shaking his head, Tim replied “Not even a bruise. I’m all good.”

Bruce nodded and turned his focus back to the road. “I had Alfred call Zatanna. She should be in the cave by the time we get back.”

Just like he said, when the Batmobile pulled into the cave, Tim could see Zatanna standing next to the Batcomputer. “B, I’m gonna take this guy to the holding cells and see what he can tell us about how the staff works.”

Bruce grunted his acknowledgement, and passed the magician’s staff to Zatanna, who was now standing next to the Batmobile, before carefully easing Jason’s sleeping form from the car, straining slightly over the younger man’s bulk.

He placed Jason on a bed in the medical bay, and after explaining what had happened to Zatanna, stepped back to let her work her magic, taking of his cowl as he did so.

“TCEPSNI” she breathed, holding out her hands, palms open, above Jason. Soft waves of magic tricked from her hands and drifted over his form before slowly seeping under his clothing and into his skin.

Bruce gazed at Jason’s face, watching for any signs of distress. He’s so focused it nearly takes him by surprise when Zatanna speaks up from where she’s standing. “This will probably take a while. You can go change, or check in on the interrogation, if you like.”

“I’d rather stay here.”

“I know you would, Bruce, but even just your energy and worry for Jason can throw the magic off. If you want this to have any benefit, you need to go. I’ll come get you when I’m done, I promise.”

Bruce sighed and nodded, walking away from the bed with one last glance at his son’s sleeping form. He silently checked in on Tim, but the boy was in a deep conversation with the now conscious magician. Deciding not to interrupt, he continued on to shower and change out of the Batsuit.

When he had showered and changed, he returned to the main cavern to find Tim sitting at the Batcomputer, watching Zatanna from a distance.

“The guy doesn’t know anything, B.” He stated when Bruce came up beside him. “Apparently he found the staff when he was cleaning out his grandfather’s attic. It has an inscription, and as soon as he read it aloud, a ‘weird purple light’ started shining, and he blacked out. No memory after that, and no clue how the staff works or what it did to Jason. Sorry.”

“It’s not your fault. You did good, Tim.” Bruce said, trying to reassure his son that he was not to blame for what had happened to his brother. He placed a hand on Tim’s shoulder, then nodded towards Zatanna and continued, “That might take a while. Would you sedate the magician and turn him over to the GCPD? They’ll still be looking for him after all that happened tonight.”

Tim hesitated, looking over at his brother’s form in the med bay, before he asked, “Keep me updated?” At Bruce’s nod, he stood up and began to walk back towards the holding cells. “I’ll check in with Steph, make sure nothing else is happening.”

Bruce grunted his thanks, and sat in the chair Tim had just vacated, settling down to wait for however long it might take.

-

“Okay, Bruce, I’m done here.” Zatanna said as she straightened up from where she had been bending over the bed.

Bruce shot to his feet and rushed over to where she stood. “Can you fix it?”

“It’s old magic, but yes, I can fix it. I’ve done a simple cleansing spell, and that should be enough to wake him up.”

She began to walk back towards his desk to pick up the staff, then towards the Zeta tubes, continuing as she went, “Unfortunately, I cannot give you an exact timeline for when he will awaken, but I would not expect any more than an hour or two.”

“What if it does take longer?”

“If he has not woken up in 6 hours, call me. I’ll come back figure out what else has happened, but with what I saw, it shouldn’t be long.”

“Do you know what it’s been doing to him?”

“No. I will inspect this staff further when I get back to my place, which has the proper magical bindings for anything it might unleash, and I will also consult the lore, to see what I can find there.”

Bruce nodded, and thanked her. Once she stepped through the Zeta tube, he quickly returned to Jason’s bedside.

Tim called in via the comms, reporting a mostly quiet night, and Bruce updated him on everything Zatanna had said.

“Do you want me to come back? We can rotate keeping an eye on him?”

Bruce considered it, then replied, “You were planning on studying with Stephanie for an exam tomorrow, weren’t you? Why don’t you stick with that, I can watch over Jason for the rest of the night.”

“Only if you’re sure.”

Bruce reassured him, and then sat back to watch his son’s unconscious form on the bed.

-

“NO!” Jason’s scream ripped through the silence, startling Bruce with its suddenness, even though he had been watching intently for any sign of his son waking up.

The boy vaulted off the bed and was sprinting out of the med bay and across the cave before Bruce could even get to his feet.

“Jason!” Bruce cried out, racing after his son. He pulls up to a stop when he sees Jason standing frozen in front of the memorial case containing his Robin uniform. He stood there ashen, staring at the domino mask he had once worn.

“It was true.” Bruce heard him whisper, still staring at the suit.

“Jason?” Bruce cautiously reached out his hand, trying to rest it on the younger man’s shoulder, but the instant he made contact, Jason whirled around and lashed out.

“Don’t touch me!”

Bruce reeled back, face stinging from the blow and ears ringing from Jason’s shriek. He paused for a moment, taking in his panicked eyes and heaving chest. Then, even more slowly, even more cautiously, he reached out his hand again, wanting to comfort his son.

“Jason, listen to me.” He said softly, “It’s okay. You’re okay.”

“No.” Jason’s voice cracked on the single word. “It’s not okay. You don’t want me here, Bruce. You want the boy that died, the one who believed that Robin made him magic, and I’m not him. He’s dead. But I’m here.”

His voice was gaining strength, filled with fear and fury.

“I’m here, and you all still look at like I’m dead, or that you’d rather I’d stayed dead. You don’t want me. You want him!”

Now Jason was screaming, pointing at the memorial case that held the Robin uniform. The exact uniform from his – whatever that was.

“You want the Robin I used to be. The Good Soldier, who tried his best to obey orders. Not the Dead Robin, who sees things differently and doesn’t agree with you.”

“Jason, I – ” Bruce tried to speak, only to be cut off as Jason continued.

“He’s dead, and you can’t tell me that if you had the chance, you wouldn’t trade me away to get him back!”

“NO!” Bruce bellowed, silencing Jason’s tirade. He reached out again, taking hold of Jason’s arm before repeating softly, “No, I wouldn’t, Jason.”

He paused, struggling to make himself speak, to voice the thoughts he’d had for so long.

“I do miss the boy you were before, but not for the reasons you think. I miss the way you used to laugh, wild and unrestrained. I miss the jokes you used to make, and the proud look on your face whenever you made Alfred laugh. I miss the books you used to leave around the Manor, and how you always wanted to tell me about what you were reading.”

He paused again, pulling in a forceful breath against the emotions filling his chest, threatening to block his throat, and continued.

“I miss so much about that time, but even more, I miss _you_. I miss being your dad.”

Jason stood before, frozen, tears falling down his cheeks. “Everything’s different, Bruce. I’m different."

Bruce slowly reached out the hand not holding Jason’s arm, and placed it on the side of his face, wiping away a tear.

“I know. I’m not asking you to be the same as you were before. I’m not the same as I was then. I just want-” He choked, fighting back tears of his own. “I just want my son. In whatever capacity or form you come. I miss you.”

Jason let out a choked sob, and Bruce pulled his son into his chest, letting his own tears fall with abandon. They clung to each other, letting the tears wash away the anger and pain that made up their history. They both knew the path ahead wouldn’t be easy, filled with pitfalls and fights, but now they knew the path to reconciliation was there, and they wouldn’t be walking alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finals Week Procrastination strikes again! Here's chapter 2, less than a week after chapter 1. Fun fact, it is the largest chapter I have ever written, making this the longest work I have ever created.
> 
> I know Bruce might seem a little OOC, but this is the Bruce that I like to read. I understand him as someone who genuinely cares for his children, but sometimes struggles to use his words.
> 
> I don't know how happy I am with this, but I also don't really know what I would change. The ending seems a little off, but it's also the ending that I want/need at the moment. 
> 
> Hope you all enjoyed reading, and feel free to leave a comment about any questions or just anything at all!

**Author's Note:**

> I just had an idea for Jason seeing his younger self crawl out of his grave in a dream, and somehow that turned into all of this. I hope it all makes sense, and that you enjoyed reading. Feel free to leave a comment with questions or anything like that.
> 
> There will be a part two, but I can't give a specific date or time to look for it. Sorry.


End file.
